Paul Hoffmann was an officer of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

), who rose to the rank of vice-admiral.

In 1889 he was captain of the SMS Kaiser

SMS Kaiser (1875)

SMS Kaiser was the lead ship of the s; was her sister ship. Named for the title "Kaiser" , held by the leader of the then newly created German Empire, the ship was laid down in the Samuda Brothers shipyard in London in 1871. The ship was launched in March 1874 and commissioned into the German...

, the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of the Kaiser-class

Kaiser class armored frigate

The Kaiser class of ironclad warships was a pair of vessels built for the German Imperial Navy in the early 1870s. The lead ship, , was laid down in 1871 and launched in 1874. was laid down in 1872 and launched in 1874; both ships were built by the Samuda Brothers shipyard in London. They were the...

 armored frigates commissioned on 13 February 1875. From 21 October to 12 November 1889, he had Emperor Wilhelm II as his guest during the Emperor's Mediterranean tour visiting Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 and Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. His dairy entries from that period are interesting to the study of the Emperor's personality and enthusiasm for naval matters, and for the later service of the Emperor's brother Prince Heinrich in the Mediterranean.

From 1894 to 1896 he was head of the German East Asia Squadron

German East Asia Squadron

The German East Asia Squadron was a German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...

stationed in Chinese waters.